Ecovillage Design

There are 6 distinct elements that need to be in place to begin and grow an Ecovillage:

The People

The Vision

The Finances

The Model (agreements and organisation)

The projects/enterprises/businesses

The Land

There is also the early life cycle of the Village which will mean the need to shift into different phases:

Before the Land

Pioneering the Land (developing infrastructure)

The next wave of settlers/members

There will need to be healthy balance between part time and fulltime members, those who work from the land, and those who work remotely (income coming from outside the Ecovillage).

Possible options for Funding of Land for EcoVillage:

Funders are found to front the money for the land and reimbursed in 10 – 15 years or by negotiation. Members provide funds for infrastructure (see ecovillagecollective.org for this model)

Shares in land are bought up front, and people’s investment is backed by the value of the land.

Everyone just pools their money regardless of what they have

Just move to an empty piece of land and declare it a Micro Nation outside the laws of SA.

Be given a piece of land by a local Chief, bringing skills and resources in exchange.

Any suggested model must always be checked with the Vision document, to see that they are aligned. The model is there to support our vision and create a container for it. It must be designed to be flexible and reviewed over time